Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

Climate Change Experts Hope Lessons From Virus Will Encourage Leaders To Require More Funding For Science

A New York Times reporter visits a campus in New York, home to scientists dubbed the ''Paul Reveres'' of climate change, a threat, they say, that could cause far greater problems than the pandemic and requires vastly more funding. Other public health news is on mental health, celebrity pledges to wellness care, advanced directives, repercussions from the fear of going to the ER, testing homeless people, research on male vulnerability, the forgotten flu, vaping risks, unusual symptoms in seniors and more.

The New York Times:
The Lab That Discovered Global Warming Has Good News And Bad News
Nestled in the forest behind a guard house just north of the border between New York and New Jersey off Route 9W is one of the world’s greatest meccas for climate change research. Here, perched on the lip of the Palisades, a half-hour north of Manhattan, is a sylvan 180-acre campus where researchers have helped to untangle mystery after mystery about how our planet actually works. No other geoscience lab was as influential during the second half of the 20th century as Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. It is where the very phrase “global warming” was coined. (Schiffman, 4/24)

The Guardian:
'A High-Risk Perfect Storm': Lockdown Takes Toll On America's Mental Health
Every aspect of normal life has been turned upside down by the strict physical distancing measures to mitigate the pandemic, which has already claimed almost 50,000 lives and 26m jobs in the US. With no end in sight, the mental health consequences of Covid-19 are starting to manifest – fuelled by the devastating mix of uncertainty, isolation, grief and economic despair. Nationwide, crisis services are trying to deal with the immediate aftermath. But the country’s weak mental health system may not be able to meet rising demand. (Lakhani, 4/24)

The New York Times:
When Mental Distress Comes Home
The panic spirals up from somewhere in Connor Langan’s midsection, and so quickly that his face changes; wild in the eyes, his upper lip trembling, he sometimes punches a wall in frustration. Such episodes resulted in Connor, 17, being placed on leave from high school late last year, and in early March he agreed to enroll at Mountain Valley, a New Hampshire residential program well known for addressing anxiety problems in young people. But on March 27, in response to the growing threat of coronavirus, the facility temporarily suspended operations and began sending home some two dozen teenagers and young adults. (Carey, 4/23)

The New York Times:
Do You Want To Die In An I.C.U.? Pandemic Makes Question All Too Real
Earlier this month, Cheryl Goldman, a retired high school teacher living on Long Island, called her son, Edo Banach, in Maryland. It seemed a routine chat until Ms. Goldman announced that if she became ill with Covid-19, she would decline a ventilator. “I’m her health care proxy,” said Mr. Banach, who happens to be the president of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. “Her perspective was, what’s the point? In all likelihood it’s not going to help, and she’d be taking a vent away from someone else.” (Span, 4/24)

ABC News:
‘They Are Terrified’: Fearing Coronavirus, People With Potentially Fatal Conditions Avoid Emergency Care
“Stay home.” That’s the message public health experts and political leaders have foisted onto Americans in recent weeks, and that was the message ringing in Alan Phenix’s mind when the pain crept into his abdomen earlier this month... With an immunocompromised wife at home, Phenix, 62, waited five days after symptoms emerged before seeking treatment for what turned out to be appendicitis. By the time he received medical care, his appendix had ruptured and an infection had set in. (Bruggeman and Bhatt, 4/23)

The New York Times:
C.D.C. Stresses Need For Coronavirus Testing At Homeless Shelters
According to a new study of homeless shelters in four major American cities, it is crucial to broadly test residents and staff for the coronavirus at the detection of the first case — or sooner — and to isolate those who test positive in order to prevent a wide spread of infection. Even in two shelters in Atlanta, which had no known coronavirus cases, comprehensive testing of residents and staff found that 4 percent of the residents and 2 percent of staff members tested positive, suggesting that some people were spreading the disease through the shelters before they had symptoms. (Waldstein, 4/23)

WBUR:
Researchers Look To Behavior To Explore Why The Coronavirus May Hit Men Harder
Researchers suspect that the coronavirus is hitting men and women differently. Worldwide, men appear more likely to suffer more severely or die from COVID-19 than women. But experts don't know why. At Johns Hopkins University, researchers have begun to wonder whether biological factors — like women's immune systems producing a stronger response than those of men — can help explain the difference. (Glenn, 4/23)

The Wall Street Journal:
Forgotten Pandemic Offers Contrast To Today’s Coronavirus Lockdowns
The outbreak started in China, where it quickly engulfed the city of Wuhan before racing across the globe on commercial flights and ships, eventually killing more than 1 million people, over 100,000 of them in the U.S. The novel virus triggered a state of emergency in New York City; caused so many deaths in Berlin that corpses were stored in subway tunnels; overwhelmed London’s hospitals; and in some areas of France left half of the workforce bedridden. Severely ill patients suffering from acute pneumonia were put on ventilators, often in vain. It was the late 1960s, and the Hong Kong flu was sweeping the world. (Pancevski, 4/24)

Kaiser Health News:
Vaping, Opioid Addiction Accelerate Coronavirus Risks, Says NIDA Director
In 2018, opioid overdoses claimed about 47,000 American lives. Last year, federal authorities reported that 5.4 million middle and high school students vaped. And just two months ago, about 2,800 cases of vaping-associated lung injuries resulted in hospitalizations; 68 people died. Until mid-March, these numbers commanded attention. But as the coronavirus death toll climbs and the economic costs of attempting to control its spread wreak havoc, the public health focus is now dramatically different. (Luthra, 4/24)

State House News Service:
Don't Let COVID-19 Fears Keep You From Seeking Hospital Care, New PSA Campaign Urges
A new public service announcement campaign, to be played on Boston TV stations, will encourage people not to avoid seeking medical care out of fear of contracting COVID-19, a theme state officials have been repeatedly emphasizing. Hospital executives joined Gov. Charlie Baker for his daily press briefing on Thursday, urging people to seek urgent or emergency care if they need it but are letting fear of contracting COVID-19 push them into letting their conditions worsen. (Lannan, 4/23)

Kaiser Health News:
Seniors With COVID-19 Show Unusual Symptoms, Doctors Say
Older adults with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, have several “atypical” symptoms, complicating efforts to ensure they get timely and appropriate treatment, according to physicians. COVID-19 is typically signaled by three symptoms: a fever, an insistent cough and shortness of breath. But older adults — the age group most at risk of severe complications or death from this condition ― may have none of these characteristics. (Graham, 4/24)

Kaiser Health News:
Born Into A Pandemic: Virus Complicates Births For Moms And Babies
Mallory Pease’s contractions grew stronger as her husband, Mitchell, drove her to Oaklawn Hospital in Marshall, Michigan, to give birth to their second child. It had been a routine pregnancy, but she told her doctor she’d recently developed a sore throat, aches, coughing and shortness of breath — symptoms her provider knew could indicate COVID-19. So, when she arrived at the hospital, she was taken to an isolation area, tested for the coronavirus and given oxygen. She took shallow, panting breaths as she delivered her daughter on March 23 in about five hours. (Aleccia and Ungar, 4/24)

The Hill:
Pandemic Sparks Concerns About Surging STD, HIV Rates
The pandemic that has upended life in the U.S. could lead to increased STD rates and setbacks in the fight against HIV as public health resources are shifted to the coronavirus response. Access to STD and HIV testing and treatment services are dwindling as local health departments shuffle staff to respond to COVID-19 and clinics reduce hours or close altogether and cancel outreach programs. “We are seeing a complete disruption to STD prevention here in the United States,” said David Harvey, executive director of the National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD). “We expect to experience even higher STD rates as a result.” (Hellmann, 4/23)

The New York Times:
Goggles, Masks, Ponchos: Air Travel In The Days Of The Coronavirus
The thought of getting on a plane is far from most people’s minds at the moment, as they shelter in their homes. But some people have no choice but to fly now, whether it is returning from a long trip or rushing to leave a country as a visa expires. In the days of the coronavirus, travelers are often taking extreme precautions to protect themselves. They wear anything from plastic ponchos to laboratory goggles to biohazard suits. They wipe down tray tables and arm rests with disinfectant. (Lin and Fuller, 4/23)

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